Indoor vertical garden – Give the background some extra thought

What is a vertical garden?

Vertical gardens or sometimes called the green wall, is a wall partially or completely covered with green plants and in which include the growing medium such as soil. Vertical gardens also comes with a water system. Vertical gardens may be seen indoors or outdoors, and can be freestanding or the most common is being attached to the wall. This is commonly seen in the urban setting wherein the plants reduce the temperature of the building or space.

The vertical gardens are suitable in commercial and residential areas particularly in the urban setting as they will allow good use of available vertical surface areas. This type of garden is also ideal for arid areas as the circulating water in the vertical garden will evaporate at a longer time as compared to that of the horizontal gardening.

The Pros of having indoor vertical garden

Vertical gardens, sometimes called living walls, is one of the popular gardening styles nowadays. It has multiple benefits for the humans both in the body and in interior design:

1. Indoor vertical gardens are a wonderful way to maximize unused space by growing herbs and vegetables indoors. This is ideal especially if the garden space is limited.

2. The presence of plants indoor improve the quality of the indoor air. Plants can remove or filter the common household air toxins so that owners would not experience any allergic reactions due to air pollutants.

3. Vertical garden can help in the insulation of the home. On the other hand, this garden can likewise protect yo from cold temperature thus reducing energy consumption.

4. Studies have shown that having garden inside your home can provide calming and tranquil effects to the body.

5. Vertical garden can likewise add in the aesthetics of the house, and probably be the least expensive form of interior decoration.  

Creating your own Indoor Vertical Garden

Often times called green or living wall, it is the latest trend in vertical gardening nowadays. You may see that some walls are simply covered with crawling and climbing plants, others may have the use of modular system which allows the plant to grow inside.

The founder of green wall is the French Botanist Patrick Blanc and produced his first green wall project at the Museum of Science and Industry in Paris in 1988. his projects were regarded as living paintings or vegetal walls. Though his project entails the use of expensive materials, many companies and offices use the said idea in their spaces making them elegant and at the same time environmental friendly.

You do not have to be a professional gardener for you to have a vertical garden. Even if you have a small space, you can still plant with modular pocket planters. In addition to that, you can also design your own green wall. Use your creativity so that you may be able to come up with the design that is suitable for you and your indoor space.

To be cost efficient, you may use various materials that are already in your home. Try to upcycle them. For instance, you may use empty PET bottles as pots which can be hanged on a special provision on the walls. Or you may use old pallet as a planter. It will provide you with enough space or growing herbs and spices without consuming most of the spaces. You can also create your own DIY pot hanger with the use of scrap wood, rope, and a few basic woodworking tools.

The use of recyclable materials, not only are cheap but you are also helping the environment in minimizing rubbish. Many individuals regard plastic bottles, old wood, old boxes to be useless, but if your have that creative eye and love to explore and do experiments, then this project is definitely for you.

Cons of Vertical Gardens

Though there are many advantages of having indoor vertical gardens in your home, it is just common to say that there are also the downside of having them:

 1. Vertical gardens dry out quickly particularly if they are often exposed to sunlight. This means that there should be a steady supply of water to keep the moisture in the plants and the substrate.

2. The growing space for the plants may be limited since the vertical garden scenario is different from that of the horizontal counterpart. It may not provide enough space for the growth of the plants’ roots and stems. In this case, certain plants may not be used in vertical gardening.

3. Vertical gardening may require lots of maintenance due to the dirt falling from the sides of the containers and not to mention water leaking out. As such, water may damage the structure supporting the garden such as the fence or wall.

4. Water drainage may be a problem especially for indoor vertical gardens.

These cons of the vertical gardening may be prevented with proper and careful planning before installing them in your homes. If you really want the vertical garden inside your home, design it properly so that the problems may be minimized if not totally prevented.